West Central Kentucky Gas Prices Dip as Regional Inventory Builds

West Central Kentucky gas prices dropped by four cents to $2.295 per gallon this week, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

The Great Lakes and Central states saw the most volatility with gas prices increasing in some states and decreasing in others (Kentucky, -5 cents).

After last week’s substantial 1.7 million barrel build, gas inventories added 880,000 barrels this week according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Total inventories sit at 61 million. The last time the region reached or was above 61 million barrels was in 2016, according to the EIA.

It was reported that PBF Energy's 188,000-b/d refinery in Toledo, Ohio, shut its hydrocracker for planned maintenance last week. A hydrocracker breaks up oil into a variety of byproducts, including gasoline. This could affect regional inventory levels through April, which is when the refinery expects to complete maintenance.

This week’s average prices: Western Central KY Average: $2.295Average price during the week of March 5, 2018: $2.335Average price during the week of March 13, 2017: $2.128

On the National Front
At $2.53, the national gas price average has held steady for nine days. Factors contributing to the flat price include increased gasoline production that has kept pace with higher than usual demand this winter. The latest EIA report shows that demand increased week-over-week, registering at 9.2 b/d – the highest gasoline demand level seen this year.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased $1.92 to settle at $62.04. Earlier in the week, after EIA’s weekly report noted that crude oil inventories increased by 2.4 million barrels last week, WTI prices took a hit. Crude prices rebounded toward the weekend because of a strong rally alongside the stock market. The price of crude has the potential to slide this week amid the fact that U.S. crude production continues to boom.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 81 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.